Authority & Credibility:

• Look for author(s) credentials on cover, flaps, or back of the book, or in the introduction
• Is the author a well known authority on the topic covered?
• Locate reviews of the book
• Locate reviews of other books written by the author (if there are any)
• Search the catalog and periodical databases to determine what else the author has written, or look up the author in the Gale Biography in Context database
• Is the publisher an organization, publishing house, vanity press, university press, or is it self-published?
  • University presses tend to publish books or journals with articles who are recognized experts in their fields
• Look at the publisher’s website.

Purpose, Objectivity, Point of View, Bias:

• What is the purpose of the book? (Biography, autobiography, present opinions, persuade the reader, offer historical overview of a topic, present research findings, offer additional sources)
• Who is the audience for the book? (age, level of education, specific profession, political affiliation, religion, special interests?)
• Look at the cover, illustrations, and any special features
• Is there evidence of bias or propaganda? (Remember that bias is evidence of unreasoned judgment.)

Accuracy & Reliability:

• Do the facts in other sources support the facts presented in the book?
• Is the writing clear and free of grammatical and typographical errors?
• What evidence of research is provided? Look for references or a bibliography / works cited, endnotes or footnotes.
• Are the sources for statistics and facts documented so you can verify them in another source? (It’s a good idea to do this)
• Are quotations attributed to named people?
• Have book reviews indicated that the book offers accurate, reliable information?
• What are the author(s) research methods?

Coverage:

• Does the book offer comprehensive or selective coverage of the topic? Is the coverage historical or current, or both?
• Does the book offer local, regional, national, or international coverage of the topic?
• Use the table of contents or the book’s index to find relevant passages that reflect your research question.

Currency & Timeliness:

• Check the publication date. Have events occurred since the publication that require additional research?
• Is the book a classic title or core work in the field? If so, the publication date may not matter.
• If the book is older, does it offer historical context that would still be useful to your research?

Appropriateness / Suitability:

• Is the source suitable for the assignment’s criteria?
• Is the source suitable for college-level research?
• Is the source able to be understood? (In English? Technical jargon?)